Sunday, January 30, 2011

Hello all. Sorry it has been a while since my last post. I was going to update you on Friday after the appointment with Dr. Singhal, but we had to take some time to let all the information settle in.

They had a scheduling error and for some reason we were not on the books. They kindly squeezed us in and still ended up spending an hour and a half answering our questions. We really liked Dr. Singhal, he seemed to be a very accomplished plastic surgeon. We asked him many questions just as we did Dr. Igbase and he was patient and answered all of them. Dr. Singhal is adamantly against the endoscopic procedure for several reasons. One being he said he sees patients all the time that had the endo procedure that need second surgeries due to inadequate results. After getting home we called the nurse back and asked how many patients is "all the time", we needed some clarification. Secondly, he did not perform or recommend the endoscopic procedure because he does not believe in doing a procedure that forces the brain to conform to a specific defined area instead of on its own. He says there isn't enough research and follow up later on in life to prove that it works. He had many other reasons, but these were the main concerns. He has been performing the traditional surgery for about 20 years (if my memory serves me correctly) and last year he did 60. Last year Dr. Igbase did 12 endoscopic procedures.

He said if we went with the traditional (big surgery) it would take about 4 hours, 3 nights in the hospital, and 3 weeks post op recovery at home. This is quite significant compared to the endoscopic procedure of 1.5 hours, 1 night in the hospital, and 1 week post op. The risk of a second surgery is at greater risk with the endoscopic surgery. A helmet would need to be worn after the endoscopic procedure for at least 9 months to remold the head. With the traditional surgery, a soft helmet (only worn for protection of the scar) would need to be worn for 3 months. The endoscopic procedure would need to be done by 6 months of age and the traditional would be done between 9 months to a year of age. Dr. Singhal believes that patients are better equipped to handle a major surgery at an older age.

That being said, you can probably imagine why we have been so overwhelmed. We have went back and forth between wanting one surgery over the other for weeks. This weekend we took some time we have decided (unless the CT scan shows something and it is medically necessary to change our minds) to go with the traditional surgery. For us, the endoscopic procedure is just too experimental, without enough proven results. We do not feel that Dr. Igbase has done enough procedures for us to feel comfortable with our little angel. We are still planning on having the CT done on Thursday to ensure there isn't any pressure on his brain or any reason to push up the surgery. We are suppose to hear back from Dr. Singhal's office this week to schedule the surgery and I will let you know what I find out, but more than likely it will be at least 7 months from now.

An update on Sophia.... She is not doing so hot. Every day she shakes in pain when her meds wear off and she yelps when walking around. It is very, very sad. We are going to go see the vet tomorrow and Sophia is getting acupuncture done (I know it sounds crazy, but we just want our little Sophia back). Hopefully this makes her feel a little better.